Reports: 2 hikers from York rescued after being stranded on mountain peak in Colorado

Friday, September 13, 2013

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(Courtesy photo)

LONG PEAK, Colorado — Reports are that two women from York, Maine, employed at the Dover, N.H., based outdoor gear manufacturer, NEMO Equipment Inc, have been brought down from the top of Long Peak mountain after being pinned down by an ice storm for two days.

Tiffany Teaford, a NEMO marketing representative, said the company received reports that workers are trying to get the two women, 32-year-old Connie Yang and 33-year-old Suzanne Turell, out of an area that has been blocked off. Teaford said the company was awaiting more details, and it is unclear at this time how the women were rescued.

A news report from 9NEWS.com in Colorado also reported rescue teams had been able to reach the women, who made it safely down the mountain. Several reports indicate the women hiked down the mountain, where they were met by a park ranger.

According to a Tumblr website created by Yang's sister, the Rocky Mountain National Park Service reported the women were “off the mountain and safe.”

Rescue crews were activated for the pair of hikers stranded by the storm for the past two days.

The chief of staff for Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado told The Associated Press that the National Park Service organized a perilous rescue by teams from Larimer and Boulder counties.

Employers and family members say Yang and Turell set out a week ago on a backpacking trip with summer gear in Rocky Mountain National Park. They got pinned down near the top of 14,200-foot Longs Peak.

The women last sent a text message more than 24 hours ago seeking a rescue, before their cell-phone batteries died.

According to the Tumblr website, the two women reached out for help just after 9 a.m. on Thursday morning. In a series of text messages, Turell detailed their dangerous situation.

“We need help. At top of longs peak. 13400 feet. Whiteout snow storm,” the first text read. Turell went on to write that there were no injuries, but there was a “risk of hypothermia.”At approximately 9:09 a.m., a text from Turell's phone warned of “No battery.”

The women said they were hunkered down inside a tent in whiteout conditions trying to stay warm.

According to the Tumblr website, the women are experienced hikers and go on similar trips annually.